The Home of the Catalina – Lake Boga, Victoria

Riding through the Murray-Darling Valley area that straddles Victoria and New South Wales is a glimpse into the immensity of Australian agriculture – horizon to horizon vineyards and olives and oranges and almonds and, strangely, carrots.

But totally hidden from view with only one small sign off the Murray Valley Highway, is a museum on Lake Boga that celebrates the Catalina. As the Japanese expanded their aggression in World War II and destroyed a lot of Royal Australian Air Force assets, it was decided to move the squadrons of Catalina flying boats to a new “secret” base on Lake Boga – a few hundred kilometers from Melbourne and several thousand kilometers further away from the Japanese.

In 1985, the Lions Club came across a Catalina that was still intact. It was bought for 50 quid after the war by a local farmer and flown to a lake near his farm where he moored it in the shade and stripped the plane for its wiring and generator that he used to power and light his barn. Other people did the same thing and then melted the metal for scrap but, apparently and luckily, this chap lost interest and the plane sat on his pond for 40 years until the Lions bought it an built a museum around it. Today it sits resplendent as a monument to the courage of those that flew this slow and vulnerable beast and to the crews and maintenance personnel who called Lake Boga home until VJ  Day.

There were apparently 8 maintenance engineers for every one women’s air force personnel who were supposed to be separated from their male counterparts in huts that were called “Blossoms of the Dust’ and “Seldom Inn”. There are a lot more stories than are shown at the museum I’m sure. But I digress.

Thanks to Daryl we got a humorous and moving education on this aspect of Australian history and the ordinary people who made an extraordinary difference.

Photos: The Catalinas were typically flown on night operations and painted black and called the Black Cats” – View from the rear and the toilet that vented under the tail – Michael Ruppert and the 14 cylinder Pratt engine – aircrew – Daryl the Lions Club host – view of the stripped Catalina